Bordeaux 2023 market analysis: Léoville Las Cases price drops 40%
Châteaux Léoville Las Cases and Pontet-Canet have joined fellow Left Bank estate Batailley in cutting release prices year-on-year in the early stages of the Bordeaux 2023 en primeur campaign.
Léoville Las Cases 2023 was released en primeur this morning (30 April) at €138 per bottle ex-négociant, and was offered by UK-based merchants at £1,662 per 12-bottle case in bond (IB), according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
That represents a 40% drop on the ‘first tranche’ release price of Las Cases 2022, according to UK merchant Farr Vintners.
Château Pontet-Canet 2023 also made its debut today and was down by nearly 27% on its 2022-vintage release price, showed Liv-ex data.
The moves follow a year-on-year price drop for fellow Left Bank estate Batailley, setting an early trend in the Bordeaux 2023 en primeur campaign.
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Decanter scores at a glance
- Léoville Las Cases 2023: 98 points
- Pontet-Canet 2023: 96pts
- Batailley 2023: 95pts
Las Cases 2023 price cut ‘good news’
Thomas Parker MW, buyer at Farr, said of the Las Cases release, ‘40% down is good news for the campaign but it’s still too early to say how it will sell. Customers are still digesting information about the vintage and working out if [or] what they want to buy.’
It’s also the first vintage to emerge from new winemaking cellars at Las Cases, a leading ‘super second’ estate that is considered close to first growth quality levels in certain vintages.
Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Léoville Las Cases 2023 98 points, ranking it as among the best wines of the vintage and matching the score for the estate’s 2022 and 2019 vintages.
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‘Bright, gorgeous, expressive aromatics of dark purple and black fruit,’ Hindle wrote after tasting a barrel sample of the 2023-vintage wine.
She added that the wine was slightly bolder than one might expect from the estate, but that it matches this with finesse and is well-constructed. The wines has a ‘lovely minty, liquorice and graphite undertone that keeps the freshness going to a long finish’.
Las Cases 2023 is cheaper than several recent vintages of the wine available on the market.
Consultancy and analyst group Wine Lister said, ‘The latest release enters the market below all vintages going back to 2017, and, more significantly, fulfils the trade’s wish for a 30+% discount on the 2023 release price [year-on-year].’
It added, ‘The price incentive makes this an obvious buy and a superb start to the campaign.’
Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade online trading platform at UK-based merchant Bordeaux Index, told Decanter, ‘We think the Las Cases pricing is a promising sign for the campaign. We see it as back into the context of rational pricing levels, where collectors can make their mind up on the wine and vintage without being put off at the outset by price.
‘There has been good buying interest, though at a level which still reminds us that the market has been one of lower activity.’
Bordeaux in a sluggish market
Bordeaux’s 2023 vintage is entering a fine wine landscape that has been marked by widespread reports of greater caution among buyers, and falling prices on the secondary market.
Liv-ex’s Bordeaux 500 index, which offers one barometer of value, has fallen by 13.5% in the past 12 months.
Other early releases in the Bordeaux 2023 en primeur campaign have also shown year-on-year price cuts. It is difficult to generalise, however, because each producer has its own market context and strategy.
Pontet-Canet 2023
Château Pontet Canet 2023 was released ex-négociant at €66 per bottle, and offered by UK-based merchants at £790 (12x75cl IB).
Liv-ex said the wine appeared to offer value to buyers, based on the Pontet Canet back-vintage pricing, although it also noted that the well-regarded 2014 vintage was available at a 24% discount to the new release.
Hindle gave Pontet-Canet 2023 96 points, which compared to 98 points for the 2019 vintage and 95 points for the 2022 vintage.
‘It has layers of minty freshness, high acidity, powdery tannins and a very calm sense of power,’ Hindle wrote, adding that she liked the length of the wine, even if it was ‘possibly missing some plushness’.
Batailley 2023
Château Batailley 2023 was released at the beginning of the week, down by around 12% on the 2022 vintage release, at €26 per bottle ex-négociant, said Liv-ex.
UK merchants offered it at £324 (12x75cl IB), making it cheaper than the 2022 vintage and roughly in-line with the current price of Batailley 2019, showed Liv-ex data. Several back-vintages were more expensive, including 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Hindle gave Batailley 2023 95 points, and highlighted the value on offer – considering the price.
‘It’s quite a serious take, but it has a juicy, almost sweet core of blackcurrant and cherry, with a slate finish. It’s well constructed, precise, finessed and classic.’
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Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.
He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.
Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.
Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.